Thursday, June 25, 1998 Last modified at 4:50 a.m. on Thursday, June 25, 1998

Scolaro status as judge-elect still up in air

By LEIGH BELLINGER

Avalanche-Journal

It was early April when Criminal District Attorney Bill Sowder first asked the Texas Attorney General's Office to settle the controversy surrounding Susan Scolaro's election as judge in Lubbock County Court-at-Law No. 1.

Three months later and still no word.

However, the Secretary of State's Office, in a nonbinding opinion, informed county GOP Chairman Marc McDougal that it doesn't think Scolaro is eligible. That word came last week in response to his query about what, as party chairman, he should do about the situation.

''They sent a letter back saying that based on the information they had, they do not feel like Suzie was eligible,'' McDougal said Wednesday. ''But it did not tell me that I had to remove her from the ballot.''

McDougal said that a mandate from the attorney general is needed to pull her name from the November ballot.

''Barring that, I'm not going to tell the voters of Lubbock County that they didn't know what they were doing in electing Suzie Scolaro,'' McDougal said.

In April, Sowder sent the Attorney General's Office a letter saying the county had an issue regarding Scolaro's qualifications for judge.

This week he called the AG's office asking for an update.

Sowder said he was told the case is still under investigation and that there is no time frame for a decision.

Scolaro defeated Judy Parker and David Duncan in the March 10 Republican primary. Since she faces no Democratic challenger in the Nov. 3 general election, the only obstacle in her way is whether she might not meet all of the requirements for the judgeship.

State statutes require a county court judge to be a licensed attorney who has practiced law or served as a judge in the state for at least four years leading up to the election.

Scolaro has said she will have met those guidelines by that time, but information provided by the Texas State Bar shows her time as an active member will not reach the four-year mark until two weeks after the election.

McDougal said Scolaro has paid her dues to the state bar, which says she became active when it received her membership check. However, a backlog from the time the bar received her check to the time her information was added into the computer has caused the dispute, he added.

''The bottom line is this: Before she would take office in January she would definitely have four years regardless, either way you looked at it,'' McDougal said.

Scolaro worked for Sowder in the CDA's office before running for judge.